Company:
Uni-Systems LLC Minneapolis, MN

Project Details

Fabric 1

Tenara 4T20HF Architectural Fabric
Producer: SEFAR AG, Architectural Fabrics
Supplier: SEFAR AG, Architectural Fabrics


Engineer Name 1
Joe Lane

Engineer Company 1
GLR Engineers

Design Company
Gensler

Architect Company
Gensler

Fabrication Name
Dirk Cos

Fabrication Company
Lightweight Manufacturing Inc.

Subcontractor Name
Mike Austin

Subcontractor Company
Austin General Contracting Inc.

Project Manager Name
Pete Fervoy

Project Manager Company
Uni-Systems, LLC

Installation Name
Mike Austin

Installation Company
Austin General Contracting Inc.


Please describe the project specifications

Owners of Hexx Chocolate at The Paris Hotel & Casino located in the heart of the famous Las Vegas Strip required the addition of an extra wide (87 feet) rooftop shade canopy for a new branded outdoor environment created by Budweiser. Automated and hand-controlled retraction, high durability PTFE Tenara® fabric by Sefar.


What was the purpose of this project? What did the client request?

The client requested shade coverage of an open-air eating and drinking plaza, a space that in the past had been used for multiple purposes and under multiple thematic guises. The Beer Park — located on the main Las Vegas Strip — is the first rooftop bar and grill at the iconic Paris Hotel & Casino (with its half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower) and is perched atop the 10,000-sq-feet roof of the recently rebranded restaurant called Hexx Kitchen + Bar. The plaza is designed by Gensler to recreate the atmosphere of a classic baseball stadium and city park and is “designed to bring people together through various seating experiences, including communal picnic tables that encourage socializing and a grassy lawn to play classic bar games like pool, bean bag toss and darts,” according to a press release. Guests enjoy their favorite sports teams on dozens of HD TVs mounted above all of the seating areas and a media wall near the central bar gives focus to the venue. A row of high top tables with seating line the Vegas Strip side of the roof plaza and overlook the Fountains of Bellagio across the street. The center of the venue features a long rectangular bar that seats 80 guests, with the overall plaza accommodating up to 500 guests. Key to making the space functional and economically viable is the retractable canopy that offers shade in the daytime, and when retracted at night, full view of the stars above and the famed water shows of the Bellagio. Integrated into the gridded structural frame supporting the shade canopy are heaters and misters that ensure a climate-controlled atmosphere all year around.


What is unique or complex about the project?

A compressed project schedule —from contract signing to final installation totaling less than six months—required that work be expedited so that completion met a late December grand opening featuring the Budweiser Clydesdales. Special challenges included an exceptionally dense cluster of specialized equipment (space heaters, fans, misters, HDTV screens) that needed to hang above seating areas while not encumbering the drive beams of the retractable canopy, which resulted in fitting the En-Fold retractable system into a unique double layer of support structure. Additionally, the project is located in a seismic zone that required the En-Fold be structurally released from the system of support for the heaters/misters, TVs, etc. so that the reaction loads would pass through the steel structure and not the more flexible aluminum canopy elements.


What were the results of the project?

The Budweiser Beer Park has become a popular venue along the iconic Las Vegas Strip and affords an additional atmospheric place to witness the pageantry of this famous American tourist spot against the backdrop of the ever popular Fountains of Bellagio and the scale replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower, viewed from above the street. The extra-wide retractable shade canopy ensures that guests will be protected no matter the weather conditions or time of year.


Content is submitted by the participant. IFAI is not responsible for the content descriptions of the IAA award winners.